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of the network hardware and software – which allows for the development of products that are optimised for data centres .
For example , they allow for greater airflow through server components , which enables them to be kept cooler . This will be a huge boon going forward as we look to go totally green , as energy consumption will be vastly reduced . But more on this later .
The Open Compute Project is already championing the cause of making hardware more efficient , flexible and scalable . And , if Facebook believes it to be worth signing up for , then I can definitely see it has legs . Facebook recognised the need to rethink its infrastructure to cope with the unprecedented , huge demands of users . We should all follow suit .
Speed will be another key driver as we look at what ’ s next on the horizon . We are witnessing interconnection between systems increasingly dependent upon fibre rather than copper cabling – this is also true for our core telecoms business . Even 40G and 100G links over multiple multimode fibre channels will give way to individual singlemode fibre channels as the cost of transceivers continue to reduce .
What ’ s driving change ?
One school of thought might suggest it ’ s people and demand that ’ s driving change – but I believe it ’ s the technology itself that ’ s creating the demand – in particular the Internet of Things .
The growth of the amount of devices that can be controlled by users and our clients , from our cars to our home energy , has increased slowly over the past 10 years but will rise considerably over the next 10 – I ’ m convinced .
Millennials are using multiple devices nowadays ; we don ’ t just see one device per household or employee . And , as readily available devices designed to connect to the internet continue to emerge , this too will impact upon data centres of the future and the need to meet more complex demands .
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‘ The days of being tied to a single networking vendor or technology are on the demise .’ |
What ’ s different ?
Cloud and hybrid solutions are with us now , and will evolve as we do . They will remain integral to managing our data but I see SaaS apps in the cloud in the future along with virtual desktop infrastructures ( VDI ) as companies strive to achieve reliable networking anywhere and everywhere .
Cloud PBX is also set to revolutionise how we communicate anywhere and at anytime and will change the face of voice and data infrastructure . This is now a multifaceted business as communications advancements have moved on a long way from two people talking together at either end of a wire . Two-way communication in a business environment is being replaced by multi-sited conferencing .
What ’ s green ?
Great strides have been made to ensure new data centres are green , nowadays . And as we move forward , this needs to be integral without compromising speed , cost and efficiency . We could see cyber attacks on grid and telecoms networks that could also impact data centres .
Again , a key feature of the Open Compute Project is to minimise the environmental impact of datacentre infrastructure .
The initial design stage does away with unnecessary features and components that would waste manufacturing resources and operating energy , even including reduced transportation energy use due to reduced weight .
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Datacentres using these design principles can claim extremely low Power Usage Effectiveness ( PUE ), which is a measure of the datacentre ’ s wastefulness or efficiency . Operators are now competing to see how close to 1.00 they can get – which would represent zero wasted energy – which in turn represents a colossal benefit for all stakeholders .
What ’ s the end game ?
Within a human occupied building environment , copper structured cabling will play an on-going important role – providing connectivity for the increasing number of networked building control systems such as access control systems , digital CCTV cameras , building management systems and modern LED lighting panels .
Even wireless devices need wired access points to work – and these are connected to the network and a power source by the humble RJ45 plug and a length of Cat6 or more commonly Cat6a cable .
Within data centres , connectivity will become almost exclusively via fibre as speeds increase and costs reduce .
Finally , and I know I said I ’ d leave it to Hollywood , but this all assumes a human occupied building . My fear is that , in direct opposition to Moore ’ s Law that predicts the exponential rise of transistors , we ’ ll see very few humans in such environments .
For further information visit : www . tsicomms . co . uk
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August 2017 | 39 |